A new home provides a blank canvas to create an interior that’s tailored to your personal design style. While Instagram and Pinterest can provide inspiration and interior design ideas, there’s nothing quite like seeing something tangible – and that’s where our show home interior design comes in. Visit any Redrow show home and you’ll see how the clever use of accessories in each room adds character and personality.
In this article our show home lead interior designer Alysha Alli-Rowlands guides us through the concept of accessorising rooms in your home, with room décor ideas and examples of seasonal home design tips. She explains how styling your home with simple decorative updates can transform your home seasonally, especially for summer.
Alysha said: “When we source accessories for our show homes, the main consideration is who will be living there. We create and visualise the family persona for every house type and style it for them individually, contemplating every small detail, from the content in family photo frames to travel photos and artwork reflecting where they may have visited on holidays.
“Styling can make or break a scheme generally, it’s the one element I’m most passionate about. It has to be right for the story of the family. The scent, artwork, photos, flowers & greenery, crockery, fun items which we can imagine have been picked up and tell a story, and even bed linen.”
Accessorising Your Living Room
Living room décor is likely to be top of the agenda for anyone moving into a new home. It provides a place to relax away from the hustle and bustle and somewhere friends and family can socialise.
For Alysha, the living room is a place to curate quality accessories that will elevate your home’s interior design. She said: “With styling I always say start with a ‘less is more’ approach and then scale up if needed! A smaller number of larger, quality pieces will always create a more premium look. For me, there’s nothing worse than small, fiddly styling that can look cluttered. The most successful interior designers tend to base their curated looks around just a few key statement pieces.”
Refreshing your summer home décor may include adding accessories such as scatter cushions in new season colours and textured white ceramic vases contrasted with hand painted items.
“You may find inspiration through a bold fabric print or by choosing artwork first and letting that inspire the rest of your room,” Alysha said.
“I love the look we’ve achieved in The Oxford Lifestyle at Round Hill Gardens, which has a fresh feel for spring / summer, with strong terracotta tones contrasting with rich forest green coming through in the cushion prints and vases, which are grouped together to make an impact.
“Also opt for textured lightweight woven throws, dulled gold or brass adornments, and seasonal greenery like we have in The Harrogate Lifestyle at The Maltings to continue the botanical trend.
These items are all easy to swap out each season so when it comes to autumn you can opt for warm and cosy living room ideas like in The Cambridge at The Glade near Wakefield in Yorkshire, where we have gone for dried grasses and dulled brass sculptures to complement warm woods and bronzed marble.”
For more modern living room ideas find out how you can really fall in love with lounging.
Kitchen Accessory Ideas and Décor Tips
When it comes to kitchen décor, there is a lot to think about from choosing your kitchen cabinets, worktops and flooring, to zoning your open-plan areas for dining and relaxing, so accessorising rooms like this may feel like an afterthought. However, as Alysha explains, styling can be the element of your interior design that ties a larger space together, ensuring that each area has its own identity, but ultimately flows from one zone to another.
Alysha said: “Our open-plan kitchen, dining and family rooms are one of my favourite places to style. Once you’ve chosen your kitchen design, a great dining space should be your next priority. Current trends include warm walnut finishes paired alongside marble topped tables with brass bases like we installed in The Hampstead at Curborough Lakes. I love to maintain elements through into the dining chair design, so if the table has a brass base I may choose dining chairs or bar stools with brass cuffs on the legs. It indicates the items blend rather than match and this can then be picked up in accessories such as brass light fittings so the whole space harmonises.
“Adding real or faux flowers, plants, herbs and pots is an easy styling tip that can transform the feel of a kitchen and dining room. I like them to be aspirational, such as the faux florals from Abigail Ahern, and they need to be correctly proportional to the vase, while ensuring they blend with the other textures and colours in the room.”
Bedroom Décor Ideas & Accessorising Tips
Your bedroom is a sanctuary where you spend time recharging from your busy life and it’s important to choose accessories that help create a relaxing environment.
We’ve previously explored how your interior can boost your mental health so elements in the bedroom like lighting and window dressings are key to ensuring your room functions well for sleep. Bedrooms are easy to adapt as the seasons change too so for spring / summer home décor add light weight bedlinen, bright cushions and fresh florals.
Alysha again adopts an understated approach in show home bedrooms, keeping accessories minimal to ensure a luxurious feel.
“Our bedrooms are styled like boutique hotel rooms, with classical, opulent accessories from candles and reed diffusers, to lamps and oversized vases. In the main bedroom of the Hampstead at The Glade we’ve opted for a very simple yet beautifully curated group of accessories. The bedsides are topped with art deco brass lamps, reed diffusers, candles and white textured ceramics. The brass is then reflected in a Japandi style brass disc sculpture on the window sill.
“Our children’s bedrooms aren’t overly stylised either. We try to make them true to life, and reflect a child who could live there, adding realistic items that show the child’s personality. For example, in the The Sunningdale at Curborough Lakes, we’ve styled one of the bedrooms for a music-loving teen, displaying a prized guitar on the wall, which has been complemented by curated and collected album artworks, mini decks, a stereo and monochrome lighting.”
Read on for more children's bedroom ideas that will grow with them.
How to Accessorise Your Bathroom
Like our show home bedrooms, our bathrooms and en-suites are designed to reflect the high-end quality of a luxury hotel. Keeping your accessories to a minimum is once again the key to elevating the space and creating a premium feel.
Alysha said: “When styling a bathroom, I always invest in high quality fluffy towels, scented candles and luxury products. Adding greenery is important, as this can have a practical benefit too if you choose plants that absorb moisture. For storage I like to add a wenge wood bath rack, like we have in the Ledsham at Ash Gardens, or some spa-style woven baskets, which can be great for keeping extra towels and cosmetics stored away neatly.”
Find more bathroom décor ideas and trends.
Hallway Accessory Ideas for a Welcoming Summer Entrance
While we’ve left it to the end of our article, your hallway is usually the first room visitors will see in your home, so it’s well worth taking a considered approach to hallway design ideas.
As you would expect, our interior designers are experts at making the right first impression in a hallway and will usually open for accessories like statement mirrors, seasonal floral displays, welcoming personalised artwork, and a perfectly scaled sideboard or shelving unit.
Alysha said: “Your hallway should be light, welcoming and free from clutter. A mirror is perfect for creating a brighter space, and you could opt for a curved or organic shape to soften the angles.
“Texture and pattern are both ways you can begin to layer the space and bring a tactile, warmer quality. We like to use subtle woven or metallic wallpapers for hallway feature walls. Warm woods and marble can also be great for bringing texture and interest to shelving and storage units.”
Now you’re prepped to style each room in your home to perfection, you may turn your attention to outdoor décor ideas. If you’re looking for advice on garden accessorising, check out our alfresco outdoor living space ideas. Here you’ll find ideas for decorative lighting, outdoor cushions, dining accessories, and planters.
Ready to design your dream home’s interior? Find your perfect home inspiration by visiting the show home at your nearest Redrow development.
